


worth your weight in gold

by taemochi



Series: better together [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Competition, Established Relationship, M/M, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, bowling, sulky jaehyun, taeyong comforts him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 14:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17489882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taemochi/pseuds/taemochi
Summary: sometimes, jaehyun's competitive streak is his own worst enemy.





	worth your weight in gold

**Author's Note:**

> after writing lucky strike, i really wanted to write a follow up drabble for what happened during/after the competition so here it is! 
> 
> once again, unedited + written all at once so pls excuse any errors

taeyong sits in his seat with his hands clasped together so tight they’re turning white, body rigid and breath held. 

“dude, you look more tense than jaehyun right now and you’re just a spectator. loosen up before you get stuck like that.” 

a breath whooshes out of taeyong’s lungs as he whips his head around to give johnny a glare. 

“shut up, i just want him to be able to show off how much progress he’s made in such a short amount of time. i know he’s put a lot of pressure on himself to do well, and i’m so proud of him, i’ve told him that plenty of times. but... you know how he gets when things don’t go the way he wants. he’s going to beat himself up over it instead of being happy with how much he’s already accomplished.” 

johnny snorts, shaking his head. “god, you are so whipped. jaehyun could stand in front of you and do nothing but breathe and you’d still lose your mind.” 

taeyong frowns even harder, but he can’t fight the warmth that spreads across his face. he’s lucky that the fans don’t have a clear view of their faces, because it would definitely be a hot topic on twitter later on. 

“whatever. you don’t even have the right to talk because you act like the sun shines out of ten’s ass,” taeyong bites back. 

“oh, that’s not acting,” johnny replies, wiggling his eyebrows.

taeyong’s hand instinctively forms into a fist, and he has to hold himself back from punching johnny’s arm in front of a crowd. 

“you’re disgusting,” taeyong says through gritted teeth, a fake smile plastered on his face. 

johnny smirks, leaning back further into his chair. “tell me something i don’t know.” 

taeyong rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to the lanes where jaehyun is watching chanyeol make his next throw. 

all the pins clatter to the ground with a crash, making it chanyeol’s third strike in a row. taeyong can’t help but notice the slump in jaehyun’s shoulders, and he wants nothing more than to hold his hand and tell him that he believes in him. 

for now, all he can do is watch and hope that jaehyun doesn’t let his nerves get the best of him, and that he doesn’t get too discouraged by how well chanyeol is doing. 

as the game goes on, the scores continue to be neck and neck, jaehyun picking up spares and getting a few strikes as well. 

taeyong and johnny scream loudly whenever jaehyun picked up his bowling ball in an attempt to hype him up, not caring that their throats have gone dry and that their voices will probably sound awful the next day. 

taeyong even borrows two lightsticks from the fans in order to cheer jaehyun on. he knows he looks silly, but the smile on jaehyun’s face is worth it. 

in the end, chanyeol beats jaehyun by a 19 point margin: 214 - 195. 

taeyong sees the flash of disappointment in jaehyun’s eyes when the gold medal is placed around chanyeol’s neck, but jaehyun is nothing if not polite, so he bows and shakes chanyeol’s hand as he congratulates him on his win. 

chanyeol brings him into a hug, large hand clapping repeatedly on jaehyun’s back, telling him that he did well for someone who had such little time to prepare. 

taeyong feels like he’s got tunnel vision, eyes locked onto jaehyun’s face. jaehyun’s dimpled smile doesn’t reach his eyes, and taeyong knows that the loss is affecting him more than he’s showing. 

when chanyeol walks away, taeyong and johnny run towards jaehyun and sandwich him into a bone crushing hug. 

“you fucking killed it, jae!” johnny exclaims, throwing his arm around jaehyun’s shoulders. 

jaehyun gives a half hearted smile and holds up the medal around his neck. “only managed to get silver though.” 

taeyong frowns at jaehyun’s self deprecating words. “jaehyun, you literally broke two records for this event today after only three weeks of practice. i don’t think you should dwell on the fact that you got a silver medal instead of gold when you’re literally the new record holder.” 

“yeah, you did amazing for your first time competing. stop raining on your own parade, we should go out to eat and celebrate!” johnny says enthusiastically. 

jaehyun gives a slight shake of his head. “i’m actually really tired from being here and filming all day, i just want to go back to the dorm and rest if that’s fine with you two.” 

johnny and taeyong share a look. neither of them buy jaehyun’s weak excuse, but if they try to drag him out he’ll be in an even worse mood. 

taeyong sighs softly to himself. “that’s fine, you’ve worked hard. let’s get in the van.” 

jaehyun sends him a small, grateful smile. 

after exiting the van, johnny pulls taeyong to the side while jaehyun is collecting his things from the trunk. 

“i’m going to sleep in jaehyun’s room tonight, i already texted hyuck,” johnny states quietly, eyes darting to jaehyun to make sure he can’t hear. “he’ll never admit it, but he needs you right now.” 

taeyong flashes johnny a quick smile and nods. he’s grateful that jaehyun has such a caring best friend. 

“why are you guys still standing out here?” jaehyun questions, brushing past the two of them. “let’s go inside, it’s freezing.” 

jaehyun announces that he’s going to take a shower before heading to bed, grabbing his towel from his room and entering the bathroom. as soon as the bathroom door shuts, taeyong watches as johnny quickly changes into his pajamas and runs into donghyuck and jaehyun’s shared room. 

“take care of him,” is the last thing johnny says before closing the door and locking it for good measure. 

taeyong pads into his room and changes into his favorite pair of black sweats, along with a well loved striped shirt that fits slightly too big. he pulls back the comforter and flops down onto his bed, staring at the ceiling while he thinks. the bluish glow of the moon filters into the room in small slivers, making him feel calmer. 

jaehyun is such a wonderful person that taeyong wonders what he did to deserve him. to have met him, to be able to be around him, to be loved by him. it’s a little overwhelming to think about sometimes. 

it hurts to see people portray jaehyun as some type of cold, unfeeling person who has nothing to offer besides his looks. taeyong knows that it’s because they haven’t bothered to actually look at him, or get to know him past outward appearances. 

jaehyun, who practiced with him until dawn during their trainee years even though he was exhausted, just so taeyong wouldn’t have to go back to the dorm by himself. jaehyun, who always puts others before himself even if it means more work and responsibility for him, without any complaints. jaehyun, who fought tooth and nail to become part of nct, his tenacity and drive setting him apart from everyone else. 

but also jaehyun, who cries watching sad movies and gushes about wanting to take care of his own children in the future. jaehyun, who remembers all of the critique he’s heard over the years and tries his absolute best to be a better person all around. jaehyun, who listens intently when taeyong speaks, adoration dripping from his eyes. jaehyun, who is harder on himself than anyone else could ever be, picking himself apart in front of the mirror with the mindset of constant improvement. 

sometimes, taeyong gets frustrated because jaehyun becomes so caught up in what he needs to fix or what went wrong that he doesn’t acknowledge how amazing he already is. tonight is one of those nights. 

taeyong doesn’t move when he hears soft footsteps coming into the room, and he barely blinks when he hears the door shut. 

“tae?” jaehyun’s voice is soft and heavy at the same time, the tiredness bleeding through. 

taeyong makes a sound of confirmation and slides over closer to the wall when jaehyun slips into the covers next to him. they lay in silence for a moment, both looking at the ceiling above them, different trains of thought running through their minds. 

they turn to lay on their side at the same time, their eyes locked, unspoken words hanging in the space between them, waiting to be said. 

taeyong brings a hand to cup the side of jaehyun’s face, still slightly flushed and warm from his shower. jaehyun lets out a small sigh of content and closes his eyes, his minty breath fanning over taeyong’s face. 

taeyong speaks first. “i’m so, so proud of you. have i told you that?” 

jaehyun snorts gently and cracks open his eyes. “just a few hundred times.” 

“and i’m going to keep saying it, because i’m always proud of you, no matter what,” taeyong says, eyes fierce. 

jaehyun looks away, the gentle smile on his face faltering. “i know… i just wish i could’ve done better. i worked so hard, i wanted that gold medal so bad… but i fucked up during the finals of all places.” 

taeyong frowns and forces jaehyun to look at him again. “jae, sometimes things just don’t go the way you want them to and that’s okay. so what if you didn’t win? you broke the record for the highest score attained during the competition and most spares. you should be just as proud of yourself as i am.” 

“i know, i know… and i don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but it just kind of feels like all that work went to waste… silver isn’t as satisfying as gold.” jaehyun responds, voice small, eyes downcast. 

taeyong is unable to hold back the noise of frustration that comes out. 

“jung jaehyun, i’m going to punch you if you don’t stop sulking about this. in just 3 weeks, you’ve managed to improve your skills exponentially. you’re already better than a lot of people who have been practicing for years, even the instructor said so. even with all the other things you had going on, you put in the time and effort because you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t. you let your nerves get to you in the final round, but the scores were still really close, and chanyeol hyung has been bowling for over a year now. you have nothing to be sorry about.”

jaehyun’s smile grows as taeyong speaks, his eyes slightly watery when taeyong looks closely. 

“you’re always supporting me, no matter what. you had things to do too, but you made sure to come and watch me practice, to make sure i ate properly and stayed hydrated. you really are my biggest fan.” 

taeyong scoffs. “of course i am. i always have been, haven’t i?”

jaehyun laughs, a sound that never fails to make taeyong’s heart skip a beat, and places a hand on taeyong’s waist. “well, number one fan, can you do something for me? as a reward for doing so well like you said?” he says, eyes sparkling even in the low light of the room. 

“anything,” taeyong breathes. 

“kiss me.” 

taeyong moves his hand to the back of jaehyun’s neck and pulls him forward until their lips slot together, gently at first, then more insistent as the minutes go by. 

their rhythm is slow but full of passion, both of them sharing their feelings without using words. the slide of their mouths is slick, and jaehyun’s tongue fills taeyong’s mouth with the lingering mintiness of the toothpaste he used. 

they break apart when they run out of air, but just barely. their foreheads are touching and their breath coming out in puffs that blow across each other’s face. when taeyong’s eyes flutter open, jaehyun is looking at him through half lidded eyes, his gaze sweet like the honey in his eyes. 

“thank you,” jaehyun whispers, tilting taeyong’s head down in order to leave a kiss on his forehead. 

taeyong blushes, as if they hadn’t just been making out for the past ten minutes. “for what?” 

“for being you,” jaehyun answers simply. 

a warmth spreads through taeyong’s body, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. he smiles and maneuvers his hands around jaehyun’s body to envelop him in a tight hug. 

“you too. even if you drive me crazy sometimes.” 

jaehyun’s body shakes as he laughs, his strong arms wrapping around taeyong’s smaller frame. “crazy in a good way, i hope.” 

taeyong pulls away and lightly punches jaehyun in the shoulder, making a face. “johnny is rubbing off on you.” 

“but you still love me,” jaehyun sing-songs, grinning widely.

taeyong sighs. “unfortunately.” 

“let’s go to bed?” jaehyun suggests, rolling taeyong so he’s facing the wall and pressing his broad chest again taeyong’s back. 

“yes, but one last thing,” taeyong says, laying his hand over where jaehyun has his, over his heart. 

“what is it?”

“it doesn’t even matter that you got silver, when you’re worth your weight in gold.”

**Author's Note:**

> always down to hear your thoughts (: 
> 
> [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/peachyhoneys)   
>  [curiouscat](http://www.curiouscat.me/fairy_vmin)


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